What's Inside
by ToxinAngel969
Summary: Zeke didn't quite understand it. After meeting Ratchet & Clank, that all too familiar helpless, lonely feeling began to wane; only to return tenfold when she was constantly being pursued for being the first human/Lombax hybrid that was capable of much more than her creator had anticipated. Rated T for language, violence, blood, suggestive/graphic material. Rating subject to change.
1. Author's Note

Dear my fellow Ratchet & Clank fans,

I have decided to take a… _different _approach for the story that I've submitted a few weeks ago, called _Experiment #5_. You see, after taking a look at the other fan-fictions that have been put up on this site, I realized that this one lacked something that I just couldn't put my tongue on until I read it over once more, and it hit me upside the head like the pissed off she-dragon that I call my dearest mother would do with a frying pan:

Soul.

Go ahead and call me crazy, and tell me that I'm bonkers. However, think about this. When I listen to a good song, I get lost in the emotion and the message they put out for others to hear. It comes from _their souls, _and I could feel it. When I read a good piece of literature, it stabs me through the chest like a knife, ultimately penetrating my heart and filling it with whatever the motif may be: awe, desperation, angst, jubilance, etc. So why didn't I just put my soul and outlooks out there for others to see?

Quite frankly, because I fear you. Yes, _you. _I fear what you will say, how you will react, what will become of my story. I fear what you may think of how or what I write, and fear how you interpret the events. I fear what you will say to me. So I'm done.

I'm done hiding out in the shadows, allowing bits and pieces of my writing to be told as they should, for fear of what will become of me. I promise you that every single word that you read comes directly from the soul, and/or related directly or indirectly to our daily lives. Otherwise, it just doesn't seem…real enough. Please understand that I'm not angry, or flat out crazy. Just misunderstood, underestimated, and done with the petty game that's consuming my life. I'm sick of being told what's wrong, what's not good enough about me or what I make (if you feel this is directed to you for any reason, don't; odds are, I don't know you in real life anyways, for this isn't directed to any reviews, IMs, etc. I've received at all). Even if this does seem a little personal for a fan-fiction, I'm doing it. And no one's going to stop me.

I hope you're touched by this writing, because as words are my escape from my hellish life, this is supposed to help you get lost in their world, what they're going through. Feel what they feel, see what they see, but most importantly, forget the world around you. I promise, it works every time for me.

And this vexatious Angel doesn't break promises.

~ToxinAngel969

* * *

FAN FICTION SET UP OVERVIEW

Okay, this is how it's gonna go.

_**Head Note: **_This is basically the author's note to the readers before the story begins.

_**Disclaimer: ***_This Ratchet & Clank fan-fiction is exactly that: fanfiction. I don't own the Ratchet & Clank characters, game series, or anything related to them. They belong solely to Insomniac Games and this is purely a recreational piece of literature. *I own none of the songs used at the end of each chapter.

_**Chapter #Blah: Blahblahblah**_

It will then get into the story, beginning with the chapter title and number and all that fun jazz.

_**Chapter Song: Headstrong, by Skillet **_Every chapter has a song; after I've completed a chapter, I pick a song that best fits the mood or the events that occurred in it. For example, this _chapter's _song is Headstrong, by Skillet. Suggestions are open if you read a chapter and think you know a song better fit for it than the one I've selected.

_**Foot Note: **_Again, this is an author's note, found after the chapter as well as before. I'm a blabber mouth like that. This will wrap up my discussion with the reader. Yay. We're done finally. You may now proceed to the next chapter my friend.

~Toxinangel969


	2. Prologue: Simply Quark-tastic

_**Head Note: **_ Hi guys! I am proud to introduce to you the prologue of _What's Inside, _the revised version of my former story Experiment #5. As always, I greatly appreciate honest reviews, opinions, song ideas, etc. Enjoy!

EDIT: So, I went back and edited all the chapters starting with this one. Hope you likey!

_**Disclaimer: ***_This Ratchet & Clank fan-fiction is exactly that: fanfiction. I don't own the Ratchet & Clank characters, game series, or anything related to them. They belong solely to Insomniac Games and this is purely a recreational piece of literature. *I own none of the songs used at the end of each chapter.

* * *

_**Prologue: Simply Quark-tastic  
**_

The eerie silence that had consumed Ratchet's apartment bedroom was more or less uncomfortable, the fact that it was pitch black merely heightened this unnerving feeling. Not that the Lombax didn't appreciate the darkness of his room. Normally he couldn't sleep well if the littlest, most trivial and insignificant things were the slightest bit awry. For an example, it had to be warm enough for him to sleep without the use of his comforter, but not so warm as to make the skin beneath his fur get all gross and sticky (it was placed as #2 on his list of how annoying having fur all over your body can really be, the #1 reason being something that only a certain number of guys could understand) Tonight however, no matter how high he set the apartments AC, he always seemed to wake up drenched with sweat, quivering like a leaf and struggling to catch his breath.

Ratchet was clueless as to why these strange things were happening to him; they began happening about a week or so ago, the reason behind it still unknown. And no, he couldn't recall any nightmares that could've sparked these abnormal occurrences; actually, he wasn't able to recall any dreams at all. On the nights when he woke up in such a shaken condition, he only remembered resting his head down on the pillow preparing to fall asleep, and nothing more. There were no frightening or strange dreams that could have explained his abnormal state. When these mysterious abrupt awakenings first began, he merely shook it off, hoping that it was just a temporary thing that came along with all of this "being a hero" stuff that he had yet to get used to (well, according to Captain Quark, he wasn't). But instead of gradually abating like he thought they would eventually do, they appeared to intensify. He found that he'd been waking more every night, once waking up so breathless that he suspected he'd been running around his apartment in his sleep before returning to bed and waking up. Clank would have told him so, had this been the case. Either way, Ratchet didn't necessarily care about what this was or why it was happening. All he cared about was the fact that he was losing sleep – and a lot of it. Everyone who knew Ratchet well, unfortunately, probably learned the hard way that one of the infamous idiosyncrasies belonging to all Lombaxes was that when they don't get their sleep (or coffee, depending) they were one of the crabbiest creatures in the entire galaxy. Then again, who wasn't uber-grumpy after receiving not two hours of sleep every night for the past week?

The uneasy silence was disturbed by a loud been that startled the drowsy Lombax out of his restless slumber. A computerized feminine voice spoke from the direction of the top of his drawer.

"Good morning, customer 1,039,872! The time is currently 4:08 AM. The Gadgetron AMR has received two new messages. Would you like me to power on the lights and commence the regular morning routine?"

In his sleepy state, it took him a minute to realize that the mechanical voice was emitted from the Alarm/ Message Reciever that Clank had installed in his apartment after haggling with a Gadgretron salesman. It was an odd little device that, as written in the manual, "contained a wide, unpredictable array of tools and techniques to get any creature up and out of bed when the alarm is set or when a message is received". Clank claims to have purchased it for Ratchet as a gift, but the both of them were well aware that he only bought it because he was tired of trying to get Ratchet out of bed in the mornings. Ratchet would usually sleep until noon and Clank... well, because he only required being charged or having his batteries replaced every now and then, he stayed up and did whatever he wanted to. Unfortunately, the new device had a few malfunctions and awakening options that Clank was a tad reluctant to tell him about. "As you can see, I have repaired and modified what I could of the device; However, it is imperative that you know its limits, and whether or not it is able to fulfill given orders. If it finds itself incapable of following the instructions given, it will, err, complicate your morning." his robot companion told him. He had also said that he would be installing the device so that it would be a sort of master control for all of the Gadgetron appliances in the apartment: his metal curtains that sealed the window shut at night, the lights that were adhered onto the wall on both sides of his bed, and the Bio-Scanner that was placed directly above his bed frame (again, this was claimed to be a _gift_). All of which were controlled by this little, tacky machine that looked more like a checker with an antenna sticking out of it than an actual Gadgetron device.

Ratchet lightly stirred, the automated woman's voice sounded to him like a slur of random vowels.

"..Mhneh….wh-wha..?" he tried to question as he was still caught between sleep and awakening. The AMR, which Ratchet called the _Aimer_ since he found it shorter and much more convenient to say, heard his hoarse voice mumble what was supposed to be a question and replied almost instantly.

"Response confirmed; now powering the lights."

An electronic whir could be heard from behind the wall as the window's metal curtain that sealed it shut began to roll up, and both lights clicked on. The previously black room now illuminated to the Aimer her customer's sleeping postition. Ratchet seemed to have kicked down his comforter and sheets in his sleep, revealing to the AMR Bio-Scanner his blue boxers as well as the fact that he was drooling on his pillow. "As understandable as it is for a furry creature such as yourself to not wear pajamas during this time of year, I would highly suggest that you at least wear a pair of shorts; it would make my job much easier without the awkward tension between me and my customers. And the color of your undergarments simply does not match your bedding, it is most unsightly." Spoke the robotic female voice.

Lying on his side, Ratchet's arms were brought up to his chest as if he were hugging himself. His chest rose and fell to an unnatural breathing pattern. His velvety plush tail was dangling off the edge of the bed, and the exquisite orange/ light brown design on it matched that of the design all over his body: a vivid orange until it reached his stomach, where it faded into a yellow creamy color. There were brown stripes on the sides of his torso, his biceps, even his ears. They matched the color of his catlike nose and his thick eyebrows, which were currently glaring at hearing the snide comment the AMR had said.

"Aaargh, Aimer!?" he whined much like a child, clenching his eyes shut and burrowing deeper into the feathery pillow. "Jus' gimme a couple more minutes!" Finding that he was growing increasingly damp with sweat in his current position, he flipped over on his chest so that his right arm, leg, and tail were dangling lifelessly over the edge of the bed. His breathing pattern had begun to return to normal now that he was waking up.

"Uh-oh!" the AMR exclaimed with an excessively surprised tone. "You still appear to be dormant! Don't worry; the Gadgetron AMR will have you out of bed in no time!"

"Bite me," Ratchet murmured. He could care less about the consequences.

Without warning, a giant silver spring erupted from the ground beneath his bed, creating a funny _sproing _sound as it sent Ratchet flying off of the bed and into a dirty laundry hamper, screaming as loud as he could until the impact knocked the breath out of him.

"Thanks you for using AMR, and have a nice day!" the device remarked slyly, before the spring pulled itself back thus replacing the bed, and continuing on to the messages.

"Now playing message number one, received at 3:57 AM from a Captain Quark:

'_Hey, Ratchet! I seem to have run into a, heh…' _Ratchet listened as he picked himself up from the ground and plucked the dirty sock off of his ear. _'I guess you could say it's a minor situation here, and I felt that it would be the most responsible and heroic thing to do to get my Blargian Snagglebeasts in a row and solve it! Therefore, I wanted to inform you that I may be a little late showing up to your surprise party to address some much more important matters. Thanks for being and understanding friend!' _End of message."

Ratchet glanced at the AMR device quizzically with his dry bloodshot eyes, still interpreting exactly what Quark had told him. He really didn't care what his problem was, much less what he considered to be heroic, but it did catch his attention when he said he may be late to his _surprise party. _"So," he huffed as he stood up straighter and pulled a piece of dirty clothing off of his fur. "They're making a surprise party for me, huh?" Ratchet asked out loud, brushing off a dirty shirt that hung on his shoulder and making his way to his dresser. "That idiot… sending me a message at four in the frickin' morning, _and _giving away something that he was probably told to swear his life on to keep secret?" Ratchet sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. He was so tired, and couldn't even begin to describe how mad he was at Quark for making his AMR literally eject him out of bed so early in the morning. "How dense can you get?" he asked under his breath, his voice unnaturally hoarse. He pulled open a drawer and told AMR to play the second message.

"Now playing message number two, received at 4:07 AM from a Captain Quark:"

Before it even started, the Lombax knew the first words that would come out of his mouth. It was something that he'd grown used to hearing as the weeks passed. "Let me guess..." he groaned. As the message started, Ratchet closed his eyes, put his hands on his hips, thrust his chest out and tried to imitate the deep voice of Captain Quark. They both said in unison,

"_Hey Ratchet. About being late…I respectfully and humbly request your assistance with this _problem _of mine…" _

* * *

_**Chapter Song: Gives You Hell, by All American Rejects**_

_**Foot Note: **_Well, I edited it, so I hope that it's at least a little longer. PLEASE REVIEW, they help me keep updates more regular than when I receive no feedback. :D OC will be introduced in chapter three (don't worry; this OC couldn't be any farther from a Mary Sue. Or a Mary Jane. Whatever, you get it.)

~Toxinangel969


	3. 1: Again

_**Head Note: **_ Hello again, R&C fans! ToxinAngel969 here, presenting the first official chapter of _What's Inside_, because it's a weekend and my brothers are hogging the PS3 again. So why not get a little deeper into the story? You will see Clank, and I hope that you understand the mood and why Ratchet and Clank act the way they act towards each other. It may not be the happiest chapter in the story, but I hope you enjoy it! Also, I AM DRAWING A COMIC VERSION OF THIS and will be posted up on deviant art when I'm finished. Because I'm a perfectionist. And it has to be perfect. By the way, I may be getting a Wacom Tablet for Christmas, so you may have to wait until then for the comic. You may now proceed.

EDIT: Edited, peeps.

_**Disclaimer: ***_This Ratchet & Clank fan-fiction is exactly that: fanfiction. I don't own the Ratchet & Clank characters, game series, or anything related to them. They belong solely to Insomniac Games and this is purely a recreational piece of literature. *I own none of the songs used at the end of each chapter.

* * *

_**Chapter One: Again**_

The apartment's new AMR read that it was now 4:43 AM on this unusually chilly morning, and Clank was wringing his metal hands anxiously as he waited for his Lombax companion to finish showering and come into the kitchen. He was eager to speak with him about something that he found rather disturbing on his new Bio-Scanner App, which was sent to him by Aimer. The readings were… quite frankly, they were horrifying. Clank could remember hearing the AMR go off earlier that morning after receiving the first message sent by Captain Quark…

"Good morning, Clank!" For whatever reason, the new Gadgetron devices called other robots by their name or design, but called organic life forms by their customer numbers. A number of things have changed with the devices' functions after the new president of the Gadgetron Company was elected. "The time is 3:57 AM. The Gadgetron AMR has just been notified that Customer 1,039,872 was sent a message by a Captain Quark, and has yet to awaken. Would you like me to awaken him so that he can receive said message?" The womanly mechanical voice emitted from his chest, since the Apps that the AMR held were installed inside of him.

Clank shrugged and continued to lay on the couch in a bored manner, staring off into the darkness of the living room (he didn't really have a bed, for he didn't require a specific number of hours of sleep like Ratchet and other living organisms did). "Thank you, AMR, but please allow Ratchet to sleep for a little longer. I have reason to believe that he may not be getting the best of sleep lately."

"Of course, Clank. However, my Bio-Scanners have also conducted a scan of Customer 1,039,872's sleeping condition beginning at 1:17 AM and… not only would I greatly appreciate it if you would try to persuade him to at least wear a pair of shorts before he goes to sleep, but..."

Clank couldn't help chuckling at this comment, cutting Aimer's sentence short. "Aimer, you only utilize the thermal cameras when you conduct your Bio-Scans, don't you?"

"This is no longer the case; my newest installments for Bio-Scanning have been deemed required for Bio-Scanners by the president of the Gadgetron Company, and it shows me much more than I prefer to see in most situations. Nevertheless, the results of this particular Bio-Scan I have had intentionally locked and made inaccessible to anyone except to those with the Zoni persona, such as yourself."

This caught Clank's attention. Deciding to see what exactly it was talking about, he sat up a bit and unhinged the trapezoid on his chest, swinging it open much like a door to allow the small infobot-like AMR device to float out. "Why would you do that without consulting me beforehand, AMR?"

"Only by seeing the results of the scan will you understand why I've done this." The AMR's feminine voice responded. A screen protruded from the large-eyed robot's mouth. On the left side was a thermal camera, showing the heat signature of his friend Ratchet lying on his bed, and on the left was a night vision version of him, as well as a plethora of unique meters and gauges that each held a purpose.

"This scan was taken at 1:17 AM." The female voice said, and the recording began to play.

Clank watched as the recording progressed, and his green eyes widened. His metal jaw nearly unhinged, and the red antenna protruding from his head began to flicker violently. By the time the recording had finished, Clank's worry for Ratchet had now skyrocketed. If he had a heart, it would be thumping out of his chest. "AMR…" he began, only to be cut off by the device.

"I do apologize for making this data inaccessible, but my database indicates that this is a serious problem that must be approached with caution. If you will excuse me, I must go and awaken customer 1,039,872, for they have just received another message from a Captain Quark."

"But…" Clank began, before the robot had transfigured into a small red box and replaced itself inside of Clank's hollow body, closing the trapezoid vent-like piece of metal behind it like a door.

Clank slumped back into the couch, the gears in his head whirring quickly. He felt a warm gust of air swiftly breeze through his metal vent, and he forced himself to calm down. He couldn't risk overheating right now. Still, he racked his exceedingly intelligent dome for a safe, cautious way to tread this situation. What he had just seen was enough to make his sisterboards spark and crackle within him, ultimately filling him with a sickening, dreadful feeling of uneasiness. Clank had recalled how his dearest friend had been acting lately. He seemed so dreary and exhausted, and wasn't as spontaneous and crude as he usually was. Clank could remember when he invented the Electro-Shock Undergarments, what Ratchet called the _Stunderwear_. "It was a huge seller on Umbris," he would explain to those who thought otherwise. Now, when he was told about an immature invention, instead of plastering on that mischievous smile of his and feeling the urge to enhance it in some inappropriate way or another, he shrugged it off, and went back to what he was always doing nowadays: staring out the window of his bedroom, or trying to sleep. These extensive changes of behavior alone were enough for Clank to question his friend's condition.

But even when Ratchet seemed to be doing just fine, and didn't appear to be distraught or affected, Clank could feel it; whenever he got close enough to Ratchet, he could sense a melancholic air about him for no clear reason. His largish orange ears drooped slightly, and written upon his face was an incomprehensible mask that concealed how he really felt. And exactly how he felt was still unclear to Clank. It worried him beyond imagination, seeing his best friend so lifeless and emotionless, but how would he ever be able to explain to him how he felt without him overreacting, or taking it the wrong way?

Lost in his thoughts, he hopped up from the couch and made his way into the kitchen, sitting atop the counter and awaiting Ratchet's arrival.

When the Lombax finally entered the kitchen, he was clothed in a plain short sleeved shirt and a pair of long blue pants, as well as his favorite pair of brown gloves and his cap. Clank blinked a couple of times; he was so used to seeing Ratchet dressed in his armor and ready for a mission that it was startling to see him in anything different. The fur on his arms and face were still partially wet, though the fur on his ears was always thoroughly blow-dried before he went anywhere, so that he wasn't freezing if the cooler was on or there was a cold breeze, and because he couldn't get over how poufy they looked afterwards. Ratchet let out a hoarse yawn and dragged himself into the kitchen.

Clank shot up faster than he expected himself to. "Ratchet, the AMR's Bio-Scanners tell me that you are having trouble sleeping. Is anything the matter?"

Ratchet looked up at him, his eyes bloodshot and his ears lifelessly sagging lower than they usually were. "That Aimer is _evil_." Ratchet told him hoarsely with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He reached into the refrigerator and grabbed a Nanotech-enriched Energy drink, shaking it vigorously and unscrewing the cap. "B'sides, how come you're up so early?"

"You forget that the AMR notifies me when it wakes you up, and whenever a message is sent to you. Speaking of which, what did Captain Quark send you?"

Ratchet took a swig of the drink and wiped his lips with one of his gloves. "Eh, you know the usual. He screwed something up with his ship and wants our help. Idiot…" the Lombax sat at the counter, Clank sitting atop of it to his right, and rested his head down. He was so tired, and for some reason, everything seemed to blur together.

"Was he ambushed again?" Clank questioned, though to Ratchet his words were nearly inaudible. Ratchet lifted his head back up and rubbed his temples. "…He, uh, busted up his ship or something, and crash-landed somewhere, or something like that..." Clank let out what was supposed to be a sigh. "Well, that description was excruciatingly informative."

"Thank you." Ratchet sarcastically replied.

"Do you even know of his whereabouts?" Clank asked, a little harsher than he was intending.

Ratchet sat all the way up, his eyes still closed, and he threw his hands up in the air. "Look Clank, I don't know. I don't know where he is, I don't care how he's doing, okay?"

"No, that is most certainly not okay!" the robot exclaimed. "Captain Quark is your friend, and I understand that he can be very difficult at times, but you should show him some respect nonetheless."

Ratchet felt the pounding in his head intensify. "Why?!" He snapped, standing up from the counter and clenching his fists. "He's never shown any respect for me!"

"You know all too well that's just how he is!" Clank reprimanded.

"Yeah, self-absorbed and narcissistic! Maybe this could be a reality check for him!"

"But he could be in danger, and you are expected to assist him regardless! Do you understand!?"

"_Fine!_ I'll go help him! Happy?!" Ratchet finally hollered. Clank took a startled step back. He shot his companion a disappointed, frustrated look before hopping from the kitchen counter and storming into the living room. Ratchet stood there for a moment, still a little confused as to what had just happened. The anger still lingered, and hovered over Ratchet like a storm cloud, bringing on the feeling of guilt and remorse. Ratchet let out a distressed sigh and rested against the refrigerator. Ratchet and Clank have been butting heads more often, mostly because Ratchet found that he couldn't learn when to keep his mouth shut. And no matter how hard he tried, no matter how many times he said he'd keep himself in check, it always ended like this: Ratchet starting a trivial argument such as this one that left them both angry at each other; to make things worse, it didn't fade into the background until something spontaneous happened or until he apologized. And again, the stubborn, regretful Lombax felt that he was at fault.

He could feel his face growing hot beneath his fur and his eyes growing excessively watery. Why did he always have to do this? He swore that he wouldn't, but how many times has this happened. He hated it, but it always kept happening. And neither of them really knew what to do about it.

"F…f-fine…" Ratchet whispered, quickly wiping at his eyes. "…I'll go help Quark…" he grabbed his energy drink and headed down the long hallway back to his bedroom.

* * *

_**Chapter Song: Welcome to My Life, by Simple Plan**_

_**Foot Note: **_So about the chapter song, a friend showed it to me this morning, and I fell in love with it. By the way, I highly recommend listening to the chapter songs, they are mainly rock, but I will throw some variety in there eventually ^^; I was considering Hoobastank's song _The Reason _but I think it seemed a little too mushy, and this sort of targets how Ratchet's feeling, so…. Well, I hope you enjoyed it!

~Toxinangel969


	4. 2: Hacking

_**Head Note: **_REVIEW. PLEASE.

_**Disclaimer: ***_ This Ratchet & Clank fanfiction is exactly that: fanfiction. I don't own the Ratchet & Clank characters, game series, or anything else related to them. They belong solely to Insomniac Games and this is purely a recreational piece of literature. * I own none of the songs used at the end of this chapter.

* * *

_**Chapter Two: The Nothing Inside  
**_

When the distraught Lombax finally reached his bedroom, he flung his nearly finished energy drink to the side and collapsed onto his bed without a second thought. To do so, however, he had to jump over a slur of miscellaneous objects and dirty clothing, as well as a few old blasters and bomb gloves that he found he just couldn't part with over the years. Just in case the AMR didn't yet inform you of this, Ratchet's bedroom was disas-

"Customer 1,039,872, forgive me for speaking so straightforwardly, but your living quarters are disastrous! It is becoming more of an obstacle that keeps me from properly conducting my Bio-Scans, which has become a mandatory feat according to my manual's given instructions. I know that you are exceedingly busy with saving the galaxy and several other tasks, but would it be too much to ask of you to simply place your dirty attire into a laundry basket? Are you willing to hire one of the new 180Maid-bots from Gadgetron's latest selection? I could make it so that she works half price, and she wou- oh, how disgusting, a spider just crawled upon my monitor! So many germs, how unsanitary…"

Oh. Well, there you go.

Ratchet ignored her for the most part, fighting the urge to grab the wrench set upon his dresser and smashing the smart-mouth Aimer to pieces. However, this wouldn't accomplish anything, rather it would make his situation worse, so he simply lied his head upon the pillow in defeat (the bed was made by the Aimer when he was in the shower; it still shocked Ratchet as to how this was possible when it was this small device sitting atop his dresser). And then, out of nowhere for the billionth time that week, an overwhelming sadness consumed him. It was like nothing he felt before, as if something had died on the inside of him and he just wanted to mourn its loss. But he didn't know exactly what it was that was missing, or what it was that had deceased. Whatever he felt inside of him that had "died" must've meant a lot to him in a subconscious way. Maybe it was the old Ratchet, the one that would always joke around with Clank about wanting to invent some really inappropriate inventions. Nowadays, it took too much energy to even try to laugh at what was said. Maybe it was the old Ratchet that had stated, with a smile appearing from the corner of his lips, that Clank was just the sidekick here, which would start a playful feud as to who exactly was the sidekick and who was the hero. But when Clank tried to pull this card on him today, he would merely shake him off and tell him "Not now, pal… my head's killing me, maybe later." Or he would flat out ignore him, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples as he tried to ease the throbbing pain.

It wasn't only his head, though; Ratchet had found a number of unexplainable bruises and nicks all over his body from unknown sources. At first he thought that he was inflicting these upon himself while he was sleeping, which led him to take strong sleeping medicine before bed. This didn't change anything either. He couldn't help but wonder if this was _normal _for a well known hero, taking the statement that Quark had told him into consideration, "you aren't yet used to the temporary side effects that come along with being a super-mega-awesome hero". But after officially deeming Quark to be more of moron than a hero, he dismissed it. No, this was something more serious… but it was by far out of his control, and he couldn't necessarily do anything about it.

After what had to be at least an hour of simply lying there and staring off into space, Ratchet slowly (very slowly to avoid the hellish throbbing from coming back) sat up and addressed Aimer.

Apparently, the AMR could sense that he was in worse pain, so she didn't make any snide comebacks and spoke to him quieter than usual.

"Yes, Customer 1,039,872?"

"Are you able to send a message to Quark?"

"The signal is poor, for the planet he is on has a 87.3% chance that it is uninhabited, but yes, I am able to do so."

"Then put on the video feed," he barely murmured under his breath. He stood up and approached the holo-screen that began to protrude from the AMR device.

He pushed one of the countless buttons on the screen, and a face appeared. The figure had an unbelievably muscular physique, primarily in his torso, and a broad chin that was the only thing uncovered by his green tight suit. His sparkling, brown eyes eyed Ratchet's dull green ones full of hope and anticipation, and the red antenna sticking out of his tiny head wriggled wildly as Captain Quark gasped and did a little victory dance.

"Ratchet!" He exclaimed excitedly (and, to Ratchet's dismay, loudly). "Heh, long time no see, huh?" he tried to lighten this already angry atmosphere in hopes of not being left there on the planet, like Ratchet had said he would most definitely do had he slipped up, though they both knew he really wouldn't do that.

"I saw you nearly two weeks ago Quark, when we barely made it off of that planet with Nefarious. And now, I hear that you got yourself stranded… on _another _one."

Captain Quark cleared his throat, nervously twiddling his six fingers and avoiding eye contact with the now irritated Lombax before him. "Yes, well, err, I'll have you know that I took this here ship," he patted the tattered seat he was sitting in, drawing Ratchet's attention to the battered inside of the vessel, "to the engineer the other day about the problem I was having with these iron thruster thingies-"

"_Ion _thrusters," Ratchet corrected in a bored manner, resting his chin on the palm of his hand and breathing deeply.

"Right, ion thrusters, and he said that it was perfectly fine!"

Another reason why Ratchet really didn't like Quark: he was too easily manipulated by morons claiming to be experts in something rather than coming to him with his ship problems because he wasn't "experienced enough". Ratchet had fixed a countless number of different ships, piloted and reconstructed even more; he certainly had far more experience than whomever Quark spent lord knows now many bolts to see.

"Did he try starting the engine before you took off with it?"

"Yes – twice! - then out of nowhere in the middle of my journey, I heard a loud sputter and then an explosion near my ships tail, and my ship was sent hurling into the atmosphere of this uncharted planet!"

The orange Lombax brought his head up slightly at the holo-vid and wrung his hands together.

"Probably just a fused ion duct…" he spoke to himself, deep in thought. "…didn't keep the engine running long enough to see if the auxiliary thrusters were functioning either… could've just modified the horizontal stabilizers so that no thrust would be needed to take o-"

"Ratchet?" Quarks loud voice startled him out of his thoughts and he looked up impatiently. "What?"

"Have you been _crying_?"

The question made him immediately feel vulnerable; he hated it when people saw him crying, or in pain, for that matter. He immediately brought up his gloved hand to his face and, much to his surprise, pulled it back to see the light of the holo-vid reflect the dampness of the tears. He was crying. But he hadn't even known he was, or for how long, or what for.

Immediately, an uncontrollable rage was sparked deep inside of Ratchet. Quark had never seen him cry, no one had seen him cry, not once.

And he had been hoping to keep it that way.

"Oh Ratchet, you don't need to cry for me, though it is a bit flattering. Your favorite role model is unharmed, you see? I'll accept your heartfelt apologies and tears of joy when you come to rescue me!"

_You self-absorbed, egotistical moron, _Ratchet thought with a glare. "Look, Quark, just send me the coordinates and I'll get to you when I can!" he spoke rather harshly. Captain Quark flinched and nodded vigorously. "Oh yeah, yeah, of course! Uh, sending the coordinates now, and I think I should tell you this, uh…"

Ratchet looked up with a bland, hopeless expression. One that struck Quark as very… unnatural for the Lombax.

"What do you want Quark?"

"Um, well, eh… nevermind, I'm sure it's all on the up-and-up," Quark said, glancing at the small V of spaceships that flew over him and widening his eyes in disbelief.

Ratchet knew that by the look in his eye, this wasn't going to be good. "Look, I'm on my way, and if these coordinates are right, it's gonna take me at least forty-five minutes to get there. Think you can last that long, Quark?"

"Oh please," the president replied, flinging his green hands at the Lombax. "With these two hands, I brought down a light-eating Z'Grute, a Wugwump, and a number of other bloodthirsty creatures in the past month, I think I can handle-"

But Ratchet had already shut off the holo-vid. He sighed and closed his tired, dry eyes. He was about to return to bed for a few more minutes before going to rescue the fool, when he looked up and noticed a flashing Bio-Scan file at the bottom of the holographic screen, one that read _Customer 1,039,872 Bioscan Results INACCESSABLE_. Knowing the Aimer all too well by now, she only used the term inaccessible when it was a serious matter. And because he had been called customer # Whatever a number of times now, he knew that it had something to do with him. And the fact that it was locked down to those without Zoni persona (whatever that was) couldn't be good.

The AMR immediately realized that this had caught his attention, but before it could close out, Ratchet tapped it, and an enter password and prototype number screen was brought up.

"Aimer, auto-detect password and insert Clank's prototype number." He ordered hoarsely, knowing that because Clank was part Zoni, his prototype code would pass it.

"I'm afraid I cannot access this specific Bio-Scan file, for it was secured by Customer 1,039,872's robotic companion, also known as Clank. He does not wish for the file to be easily accessible, even to you. I do apologize for the inconvenience."

Ratchet sneered, genuinely angry at his friend for the moment. Then, an idea hit him and a sly smirk was plastered upon his tired face. _Alright, Clank, _he thought, pulling a screwdriver-like tool from his bottom drawer and clutching it mercilessly. _We'll play this game. _He neared the AMR with the expression only a class-A troublemaker would have upon his face. "Okay then. AMR, shut down."

"I do not think that this is a good thing to do. I also have many security items that need to be downloaded and effective by-"

"I gave you an order, AMR. You don't want to be uninstalled _permanently,_ do you?" He reached his other hand out and grabbed his wrench.

There was a long silence, before a beep came from the machine along with the female voice. "Shutting down."

* * *

Clank was in the midst of playing a rather difficult holo-game in the apartments' living room when the AMR-bot suddenly erupted from his trapezoid and looked at him worriedly.

"What is the matter, Aimer? Is Ratchet alright?" Clank asked, mostly out of worry than out of surprise.

"Customer 1,039,782 is currently attempting to hack the Bio-Scan file. There was nothing I could do, for he ordered me to shut down. I apologize for not being able to be of more help. By now, he has most likely already accessed the file and is watching its contents."

Clank's eyes grew wide. He reinserted the bot into his chest and took off down the hallway, slamming open Ratchet's bedroom door to see him standing in awe and anger in front of the recording of the Bio-Scan. He didn't move at all, both his wrench and the other tool he had used on the wires slowly slipping out of his hands. Clank could only clench his fists and calm himself down. Hopefully Ratchet wouldn't be too angry and would understand.

The Bio-scan had ended long ago, but Ratchet refused to move. His eyes glued to the holo-vid, he just stood there, taking in what he had just seen.

"Ratchet…" Clank started, nearing his friend with caution. "It is alright to be angry. I should have told you, but I did not think it wise for you to be in a more confused state than-"

"_A more confused state?" _Ratchet growled, ever so slightly tilting his head toward his friend. "Why didn't you tell me about this? Why wasn't I informed of _any of this?_"

The tone of Ratchet's voice wasn't scolding, or angry. It was hurt. And with every word that escaped Ratchet's lips with such a pained tone, Clank sank deeper into his regret.

"I-I did not think that you were ready to take on the burden of being aware of such an incomprehensible event, and not knowing what could be causing it. I did not tell you…for your own good. I felt that it would not help you overcome it in any way. I do not say that you are not capable, I say that at the moment, you are... in need of some assistance."

Ratchet was silent; not because he didn't know what to say to him, but because he knew that the words he would say would scar, and would never be able to be taken back. He took in several deep breaths through is nose. He would _not _let his anger control him. Maybe it was for the best that Clank had kept this from him.

After a long moment of uneasy silence, Ratchet scooped up his wrench and walked by his friend without looking at him. "I'm gonna go get Quark," he said. But before he could even step out the door, a loud crash shook the entire apartment.

* * *

_**A Chapter Song: Don't Let Me Get Me, by P!nk **(I couldn't think of anything else...help!)_

**{IMPORTANT, READ*} Foot Note: **REVIEW. PLEASE. Thank you to those who have already reviewed, I appreciate it and it helps me go on. The more reviews I get about the chapter's quality, I will be posting sooner. Anyways, *** **next chapter it will explain what happens to Copernicus Quark on the uncharted planet and... well, it'll make more sense when it gets there. Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.

~ToxinAngel969 (now on deviant art as KuraiTeiruzu696)


	5. 3: Smoke

_**Head Note: **_Okay, this is one of the longer chapters in the story, not by much, mainly because my brothers are playing their zombie shooting crap or whatever on the PS3 (sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in the world who doesn't like killing zombies on a certain shooting game B[) and I had an epiphany in my sleep. I woke up and drew a whole bunch of random crappy junk referring to this story because if I didn't I would forget. That being said, I hope you enjoy the chapter! Please review!

* DRUGS, SOME VIOLENCE & CURSING IN THIS CHAPTER

_**Disclaimer: ***_This Ratchet & Clank fan-fiction is exactly that: fanfiction. I don't own the Ratchet & Clank characters, game series, or anything related to them. They belong solely to Insomniac Games and this is purely a recreational piece of literature. *I own none of the songs used at the end of each chapter.

_**Chapter Three: Smoke**_

The sky should've been clear and sunny on Monday, March 11, 2013. In fact, the weatherman specifically emphasized the bright blue sky and the warm temperature it would be on this day here in this seemingly tranquil metropolis.

Instead, the sky was a sickly mixture of purple and gray, the mischievous clouds creeping over the skyscrapers and buildings in hopes of eventually drenching the pedestrians as they made their way to their destinations. The weatherman didn't say anything about the bone chilling breeze that swept its way through the city and startled poor jacketless citizens. And as a result, approximately 34% of those of which who didn't have proper attire had caught a cold.

However, there was one group of kids that didn't wear anything different regardless of the weather. A couple of blocks down from Manny Street, a sharp turn behind the abandoned (and bound to be rodent-infested by now) bar, and another abrupt turn to the left would lead you to a small dirt patch enclosed with a single graffiti-infested brick wall and chain link fences. It was here where you would see a variety of teenagers.

There were four or five "_emo" _kids that were glaring at the other kids from the shadows through their black bangs, the excessive black eyeliner making them look more like ghosts than anything. There was a fairly handsome jock and a girl from the cheerleading team making out over towards the southeast corner, pressed up against the chain link fence in a rather distasteful manner. Please don't stare, as it makes them uncomfortable. And of course, there were the addicts sitting around in their little circle smoking rolls and talking about the most overrated things in life and putting them in numerical order from most overrated to least overrated.

However, look closely to the one lone girl sitting a little farther from them, inhaling a freshly lit cigarette and looking like she could do without everything around her. But, unbeknownst to the others, she was clinging to them because they were all she had left to cling to. Her thick black hair was cut a little above her shoulders and the front bangs were dyed red as well as other miscellaneous parts of her hair. There could be seen, upon her pale round face, a long scar trailing from the outer corner of her right eye and going down all the way to a little above her chin, coming to am abrupt stop and slowly fading as the scar continued to trail down her throat. Her eyes were an astonishing vivid blend of blue and green, gleaming with no absolute emotion, for they were either overflowing with them or completely void of the word. They were always sullen and dark. She had a fairly large, round nose like a baby, which complimented the fullness of her lips though they were chapped and locked into a frown that came naturally with the saddened eyes. Her attire was what everyone else around her was wearing; black loose clothing completed with chains, studs, and the like. And surprisingly, had one of the surrounding kids gotten up and talked her, she wouldn't have replied in a snappy cold tone like the other potheads did. Had someone talked to her, she would've replied with a voice that contradicted every part of her depiction: ecstatic, loud, and innocent.

"Hey, Zeke, ya want another?" a pasty, thin kid with spiked hair and piercings all over his face asked her, holding out two more cigarettes.

"Thanks Dud," she accepted it with a relieved sigh. She really shouldn't have been ditching school, especially with the bad grades that she had already. So she sternly told herself that from now on she would just ditch on Friday's instead of whenever she didn't feel like it (which, unfortunately, was all the time). She was about to light her cigarette with the lighter beside her when a soft but stern voice got her attention.

"Hey, have any of you guys seen Zeke around here?" Naturally, Zeke turned her head to inquire as to who was looking for her and for what reason. Not too far away from where she was sitting, there was her stepsister, talking with the emo kids who simply shook her off like a fly and turned up the volume to their headphones. One glance at the black miniskirt and neat collared shirt was all Zeke needed to know that Alicia had found out she was ditching. And knowing Alicia, this would most definitely _not _turn out well.

"Oh, shit!" the rebellious girl hissed as she pushed herself off the ground in an attempt to take off running. But a firm hand had grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked her back, causing her to fall backwards on her butt. "Ahh, my ass! Hey, what gives!?" Zeke shouted, standing up and wiping the dust off of her pants.

"Going somewhere?" Alicia spat, sounding more sarcastic than she was angry. Her light brown hair was brushed and pulled back in a sloppy braid, a black headband keeping her bangs and any stray hairs out of her angelic face. Her large, watery brown eyes glared down at Zeke in a reprimanding fashion. "Besides _school_?"

Zeke straightened up and, in an attempt to fling stray hair out of her face with her dirt-covered hands, smeared her cheek with a long line of dirt. "Hey, I was just about to leave, I was, uh-"

"And what is this?" Alicia scolded, ripping the cigarettes from Zeke's hand and stuffing them in her pocket. "Zeke, you're fifteen years old, way too young to be smoking, much less drinking!" she motioned to the ice cooler that one of the potheads, Dud, were sitting on.

"I-I wasn't drinkin', Alicia! Honest! I just had a few smokes, that's all. No biggie!"

"No biggie, huh?" Alicia grabbed Zeke by the wrist and began to leave Smoker's Square. "Oh, just wait until Uncle Jak hears about this one! He'll rip you in half like he did to Cousin Daxter when he caught 'em snorting Pixie Sticks! You're as good as dead!"

To spare her poor ears from having to hear Zeke's pleading the whole trip, Alicia crossed Manny Street and headed towards the dense woods behind the city, a straight path to the city high school rather than having to walk all the way around. As they entered the forest, the sunlight became smothered behind the white clouds, though it went unnoticed to the two.

"Aw, come on Alicia, I won't do it again! And besides just because you're a few years older than me doesn't mean you can-" Zeke started to argue, refusing to make eye contact with her older stepsister. Instead she looked around the forest. She'd never cut through the forest before, so she took in the sight of the vivid green trees towering and swaying in the breeze, as well as the dark bushes that bordered the vague trail.

"Whoa whoa whoa, okay, first of all," Alicia began one of her infamous pep talks, releasing Zeke's wrist in the process. "You are how old? Fifteen. I am how old? Twenty one. Where is mom? Who the hell knows. Where's dad? Prison! So I am technically you're legal guardian, which means, missy…"

Alicia continued to ramble, now in an exceptionally defensive and aggressive state. Zeke didn't even try to run; odds are she'd just get lost, or be chased down and yelled at or something along those lines. Last time Zeke tried to run, it was during winter. And because the know was almost frozen solid, the snowballs did much more than slow her down. Zeke was about to return her attention to her blabbermouth sister, when something in the sky caught her eye. It looked like smoke. Thick, black smoke that appeared to originate from a little deeper into the forest. Zeke squinted at it as it struck her unnatural. Fires weren't allowed in the forest, even for camping. And even if someone had disregarded the rules and started a campfire, it most certainly wasn't this color.

"-so you'll just have to deal with it until then, got it?" Alicia finished, stopping and turning to her sister to see if she understood the message, only to see that she was zoning out and most likely wasn't listening at all.

"Zeke! Did you hear what I just said?"

"Do you see that too?" Zeke said, pointing a finger to the smoke. Alicia sighed and face palmed, not even turning around. "Oh yeah, we completely forgot about your medicine… how bad is it?"

At first, Zeke was taken aback. Then she realized that she was talking about her frequently occuring hallucinations. "What? No, this is real, I swear! Look!" Though she wouldn't at all be surprised if it really wasn't. Normally the hallucinations kicked in a little later. But they weren't hallucinations of smoke; they were mainly of blood, everything was drenched in blood and the ground was scattered with disembodied limbs. Quite an unpleasant sight.

Alicia turned and looked again, doing a double take when she did in fact see it. "Hey… is that… _smoke?_" she questioned.

"Yup," Zeke grunted, hopping over a bush and off of the trail. "Let's see who else can't read the signs."

"Zeke, what do you think you're doing?"

"Going to see what's up with the smoke."

Alicia looked at her adopted sister doubtfully and glanced back at the black thick smoke. "So as soon as you're outta sight you can go back to Smoker's Square?" she questioned.

Zeke groaned. "Alicia, that's all the way over there. The smoke's coming from the other way." she backed up her argument by pointing a variety of directions.

Alicia shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingertips. "Ugh, fine. It doesn't look too far away, I guess. Put it out when you get there, then tell Officer Shane. Call my cell if ya need me."

"You're not coming with me?"

The brunette remained on the trail, still staring at the other girl questioningly. "Um, unlike _you, _I have a job that I had to walk out on thanks to a certain someone who was ditching. I don't think I have to hold your hand to go check on something. When you're finished up here, go back to school. I _will _be calling to make sure you're there, got it?"

"Yeah, whatever," Zeke shrugged her shoulders before heading through the forest towards the location of the smoke. "I mean it, Lillian!" echoed throughout the forest. Zeke stopped short. Alicia only used her real name when she was serious. Zeke sighed as she pulled out a cigarette pack and lighter that she had successfully pick pocketed from Dud. Lighting it, she already felt the uneasiness fade away; for whatever reason, smoking these things delayed the hallucinations, something she hadn't told Alicia because she most likely wouldn't believe her anyway. She sighed again. Her day was ruined. She _had _planned to put out the fire and see who started it, tell Officer Shane, and head back to the square. But clearly, that wasn't going to happen. Well, not today at least.

* * *

Captain Copernicus Quark didn't like waiting, much less to be rescued because he was helpless on an uncharted planet, in an uncharted galaxy. To be truthful, he was almost relieved that the mystery vessels who had pursued him here (and the ones who very possibly shot him down) had landed not far from his wrecked one. He hopped out of his ship that was clearly beyond repair and began searching for anyone that might be able to help him. He noticed that he crashed right next to a small stream, so if Ratchet couldn't make it earlier than he'd anticipated, he'd last a few more days. Quark listened to the sounds the forest gave off: trilling insects, ruffling leaves, and… shouting?

"I mean it, Lillian!" came from a little north of his ship. It didn't sound like a bloodthirsty, deadly forest to him. The tacky "hero" hopped out of his ship and was just about to address the voice by shouting back, when he heard voices talk behind him.

"Hey… is that President Quark?" a low voice spoke. He flipped around and saw four armed Blargs wearing O2 masks and heavy armory.

"Ah! The fellow Blarg race from planet Orxon! Yes, it is I, President Copernicus Quark! Surely galactic officials have sent you to protect his presidency from the monstrosities of this uncharted planet and to ensure that he has a safe trip home!"

The Blarg shot each other looks and chuckled. "Sure thing, Mr. President. But first, u-under galactic officials orders, of course, would you mind showing us where there might be native civilization on this planet?" one of the Blargs said.

"Yeah, we just need one or two, to test our new, eh… defense equipment to protect your presidency." The other said with a sly tone.

"We get to try boss's new serum. You see, he tells us humans are most pliable when it comes to molecular transfigura-OW!" another said before getting hit upside the head with the funny looking gun.

"What he means is…" the fourth Blarg began, before something behind Quark caught his glowing yellow eye. "Hey, guys! There's one over there!"

* * *

Zeke was paralyzed. No matter how many times she commanded her muscles to move, they wouldn't budge. Her cigarette had fallen from her mouth and extinguished in the damp soil next to the stream.

The smoke had come from a spaceship, that had appeared to be piloted by a huge antennaed humanoid with three fingers on each hand, a broad chin, unnaturally muscular features, wearing a bright green skintight uniform. And behind him were four other creepy-looking aliens, all with red skin and glowing eyes, with guns and armor and everything.

Zeke was beginning to think that Dud hadn't given her cigarettes after all.

Standing between the thin stream and the two aliens gave her a sliver of reassurance. Maybe when these things touched water they dissolved, like in that one movie she'd watched. Her mind was racing as she listened to their conversation, all the while thinking, _Aliens speak English?_ Her heart nearly beat out of her chest when one of them had noticed her. "Hey, guys! There's one over there!" he said, pointing a gloved finger at her.

Before they even had a chance to turn around, she let out a scream.

"AAAALIIICIAAAAAAA-!"

Her scream lasted about two seconds before one of the aliens shot something at her. It struck her in the arm, and she exclaimed as she plucked the object out of her. It was a dart with a long needle at the end, which Zeke instinctively stuck into her pocket before looking back and seeing them advance toward her.

"Shoot her again, Junk! One of em may not work!"

"One'll do just fine," the tallest one said as he got too close for comfort. Zeke, not knowing what else to do, clenched her bony fist and brought it up with all of her might, striking the alien dead in the eye. "Arrgh!" he shouted before blinking it a couple times and dropping his gun. "Why you little-!" the alien grabbed her by the throat and held her high in the air.

"Junk! The boss said not to kill her!"

Before the alien named Junk could acknowledge what his companions were saying, another human appeared out of the trees behind them and kicked him where a male - alien or not - really shouldn't be kicked. He let out a small groan and dropped Zeke, who fell back in the muddy stream whilst trying to catch her breath. Meanwhile, Quark slowly and unnoticeably inched around the two, still formulating a ridiculous plan that may or may not work in the back of his head.

"I knew you'd-" Zeke had a coughing spasm mid sentence. "come back to hold my hand, Alicia."

"Oh, zip it, you. I'm not even gone for five minutes and you've caused trouble." Alicia sarcastically replied, helping her drenched sister out of the water and pulling out a pocketknife.

Junk had recovered by now, fit with a black eye and aching genitals.

"Wow, no wonder why he had ya by the neck, Zeke. Looks like you punched the fucker in the eye!" Alicia joked, stepping in front of her sister defensively and clutching the knife so hard her knuckles turned white, standing in a fighting stance, ready to take on the world for her sister. Zeke loved how happy and lighthearted she seemed during situations like this. That's what she loved about her.

Before either of them had the chance to go at one another, something small was tossed between them and a lighter, dirt colored smoke blinded them. Out of nowhere, two strong arms wrapped around both Zeke and Alicia and a pair of bright green legs were all that could be seen running towards the entrance of one of the Blarg's undefended ships. Quark carelessly tossed the two humans in the backseat and hopped in the pilot seat, eager to leave this planet once and for all.

"Have no fear, you poor helpless creatures!" Quark said as he punched in a number of buttons. "President Copernicus Quark is here to rescue you!"

Before any of them had the chance to decline or hop out of the ship, the ship's voice spoke back to them what Quark had input on the computer. "Next location is the Solana Galaxy, Planet Veldin. Landing pad 2DA offline. Warp speed initiated."

"Hold on tight, you two! Looks like we'll be coming in with a bang!" Quark shouted over the loud whirring from the ship as it burst through the atmosphere.

_**Chapter Song: A Warrior's Call, by Volbeat**_

_**Foot Note: **_Hey look, Quark did something right! :D Hope I'll be able to update soon! REVIEW plzplzplz I need feedback on this chapter. BTW IDK if Quarks just the president of one galaxy or all of them or... so I sorta made a loophole in this chapter. Till next time!

~KuraiTeiruzu696


	6. 4: Dreams of Bloodfall

_**Head Note: **_Firstly, I'd like to thank those who have reviewed the last chapter. Secondly, I feel that I should tell you guys that if you do plan to review, please let it be well constructed feedback that will help me correct future mistakes, or at least a smiley face, because everyone loves those. Just saying that it would be a lot more beneficial to the both of us. :) Thank you, and because you gave me reviews (and also because I can't sleep at all) here is the next chapter.

*BLOOD, DISMEMBERMENT, AND GORE IN THIS CHAPTER

_**Disclaimer: ***_This Ratchet & Clank fan-fiction is exactly that: fanfiction. I don't own the Ratchet & Clank characters, game series, or anything related to them. They belong solely to Insomniac Games and this is purely a recreational piece of literature. *I own none of the songs used at the end of each chapter.

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Dreams of Bloodfall**_

It was a terrifying nightmare. That's all there was to it.

There was a blur of dark blue and gray colors when the ship went into warp speed, and there was an unbearable pulsating pain in Zeke's head before she finally gave in and passed out; even after she did, her dream was hazy and unclear. In the back of her mind, she could barely make out Alicia's voice in the background just before she felt herself slip away from reality, her eyes struggling to stay open.

"_I'm okay, a few cuts here and there but I'm alright… Thank you from saving us from those things… that was pretty crazy, huh, Zeke? Zeke?…Lily!? …Lillian!?"_

Alicia's voice became an echo, and then it disappeared altogether once she closed her eyes.

When she opened them, she was no longer in the ship. Instead, she was falling through the dark night sky, and after looking down and seeing that there was no ground, she assumed that she would be falling down forever. For a split second, she thought she was dead. Just as she was about to grasp the fact that she was only dreaming, she felt a sharp pain in her arm. Startled, she looked up and saw… well, everyone. There were people she recognized all around her: her biological (albeit sadistic) mother, her drunken father, and red armored aliens, too. One of the aliens had shot something in her arm, but it disappeared before she could pull it out.

Everything almost blurred together; no one part of her dream was clear at all. All she was certain of was that there were all these people and aliens around her, and in an instant, they surrounded her, pushing her back and forth, pulling her hair, tearing her clothes. They laughed as she screamed. She had begun to cry loudly. "Ally!" She shouted loudly, only to be taken aback at how young it sounded compared to the gravelly low voice she normally had. She looked down at herself. She was four years old, give or take a year, and she was doused head to toe with blood. Thick, dark red blood. She looked back up, her heart beating fast in her chest. Now was every one else. They were all covered in blood, same as her. And just like that, they all began to fall apart, first their arms detached, then their legs, and lastly their heads, which made a sickening popping sound as they pulled themselves apart. Blood spurted out, further soaking the four year old Zeke in the red sticky substance. "Ally!" she screamed with her high pitched voice. When her older sister said that taking her medication would also keep her from having nightmares such as this one, she thought nothing of it, like she always did. Now she was regretting it with every ounce of her being. Usually they weren't this bad. "Ally!" she shouted again, curling up in a ball and burying her head into her arms. Then, everything slowed down. They (as in herself and the dismembered bodies) were no longer falling down but calmly floating in the air. It felt like she was floating in water. She unclasped herself and looked around her, scared of what would happen next, and the dead bodies' limbs gradually began to deteriorate, though the blood continued to disperse.

In her dreams, the blood never went away.

In the distance, floating away from her were two other creatures. One looked, to the four year old Zeke, like a big cat. The other didn't have big ears, and looked much smaller compared to the other one as they floated lifelessly in the distance. She felt like she knew them, but she couldn't make out their attire or anything but their silhouette, so she couldn't be sure. As they gradually floated passed her, she took in every detail; the smaller one of them was a small silvery robot in a boxed shape. The other was covered in orange fur with oversized striped ears and a small catlike nose. He appeared not to be breathing, which didn't really surprise her at all. Nearly everything in her dreams were dead anyway. His eyes were wide open, but the eyes were completely lifeless. As his body slowly turned, it looked like he was eyeing her for a second, before he gradually drifted by, aimlessly floating into space. Zeke continued to float there and stare as the two began to fade into the blackness, still confused as to who they were and what any of this meant.

"Lill….Lily…lil.." she heard someone trying to call to her, but it sounded like a sort of echo in this dream, as it was barely audible and fainter than ever. No doubt that it was her sister. For a brief moment, it felt like her shoulders were being shaken vigorously by two strong hands, but she saw no one in front of her. It did nothing but annoy her. "Ally! It won't work!" she shouted at her sister, resulting in having one of the deteriorating corpses grunt loudly with a strangled voice and drift passed her. Zeke immediately went silent and curled herself back into her ball. She wouldn't be waking up from this dream for a while, it seemed. "Lilian, please… up, pl….ke up!" bits and pieces of what she was saying were stifled out, blocked out by something. Then, another voice from her dream began talking to her, drowning out her sister's cries.

"I'll protect you, I'll protect you," A man's voice came from behind her. She managed to turn around while still hovering in the air. As she did this, she saw that her hands and feet had been bound this whole time, and that they were covered in blood as well. When she looked up she saw a strange cat creature, much taller than herself, floating next to her. He had snow white fur with three red/brown stripes on each oversized ear, and big brown eyes were looking at her with concern. He looked like the small orange cat thing that passed by not long ago. She looked up at him curiously. _I know him, I'm sure of it… I know you from somewhere. _She thought to herself. He wore a funny looking black armored suit. His voice was hoarse and fatherly, and it beckoned her forth. _I know you…_

"I'll protect you," he repeated, pulling her toward him with oversized gentle hands and embracing her in a tight hug, just as the both of them began falling again. She looked at him longingly. He wasn't covered in blood. He wasn't pushing her, hurting her… for the first time in her dreams, she felt a sense of safety, security. He reminded her of Alicia. Not knowing what else to do, she hugged him back, stifling sobs into his white furry arms, which also had red/brown stripes. She felt inside of her that he would protect her from the bad aliens that would always hit her. "I'm so scared. Usually, they aren't this scary! Please stay! Don't leave me here!"

She didn't even know him, much less what he was or why he was showing up in her dream. What was she saying? She couldn't control what was coming out of her mouth. _What a strange dream… _she thought to herself in her four year old body. He smoothed her short black hair and held her tighter. "There there, you're safe now. I'll protect you, I'll protect you, they won't lay another finger on you…" Zeke closed her eyes. Just as she was beginning to feel safe here, his calming voice began to fade away, just as Alicia's did. She looked up and saw that he was no longer snow white. He was covered in blood. She exclaimed in surprise and pushed his disfigured corpse away. His arms and legs fell off, and he floated away, joining the other bodies. "No! NO!" she shouted, though no sound came out. She was all alone. There was nothing but blood and bodies.

The voice from outside of her dream came back. "Lillian! Please, baby, wake up!" It was Alicia's voice. "Alicia!?" she shouted, though it came out a whisper. "ALICIA! I'M HERE!" She clenched her eyes tight in an attempt to wake up, but whenever she did, the big white cat reappeared, still bloodied and mutilated, this time with a frightening scowl and with an electrified tool in his hands. "Stay." he told her with a deep, scratchy voice.

"ALICIA!" she shouted, just as it began raining blood. "ALICIAA! _Make it go away! I'm so scared!"_

* * *

Ratchet was the first one to reach the apartment's landing pad on the roof, which was now completely destroyed thanks to the ship crashing into it at damn near the speed of light. Clank soon followed behind, and his metallic jaw almost unhinging at the sight.

"Did Captain Quark just obliterate our apartment's landing pad using his malfunctioning space vessel?" he inferred with a hint of irritation, looking up at his Lombax companion expectantly. Ratchet shook him off with a face bordering between extremely confused and extremely angry, and resumed making his way toward the vessel that was damaged beyond repair. Sure enough, the tacky Captain jumped out of the brutalized ship completely unharmed. _Oh god, why couldn't the ships emergency seat Forcefields have been busted before he crashed? _Ratchet thought to himself coldly, only to scold himself afterwards for thinking such a thought. "Oh hey, Ratchet! You got taller! I didn't notice when we were talking through the holo vid!" he said cheerfully as if he hadn't just destroyed both his ship and the landing pad. _Yeah, by what? Six inches? _he sarcastically thought, but managed to keep his mouth shut.

For a moment or two at least.

"Well, Quark, looks like you didn't need us after all; looks to me like you've found another ship and didn't know how to stop the warp speed before you crashed through the atmosphere and into the apartment's only landing pad." Ratchet said with annoyance written all over his face. Clank would've intervened and told Ratchet to lighten up, however seeing that he had in fact completely destroyed their landing pad that would take weeks to repair, he simply stayed silent.

"Oh yeah, heh, sorry about your landing pad. But I have something urgent to show you two - you aren't gonna believe this! I've rescued two of the planets natives!" he thrust his chest out in the air, feeling very full of himself right about now.

"Planet's natives?" Ratchet asked, placing a gloved finger on his furry chin. "Whoa, wait a sec… Aimer said that the uncharted planet you crashed on was uninhabited."

"Correction:" Clank thrust a metal finger up in the air. "She specifically said that there was approximately an 87.3% chance that it would be uninhabited. The AMR never told us that the planet was guaranteed uninhabited."

"Oh yeah? Well, she also told me that she doesn't use her Bio-Scanners to watch her customers undress, and guess what she still does?"

"Well perhaps you choose to change your attire at the wrong time. She has designated Bio-Scan times and-"

"Yeah, that's totally it, Clank. She's set to conduct a Bio-Scan every time I walk through the door and start looking through my closet."

"If she is so determined to conduct her Bio-Scans during the times of day when you are mostly naked, then why does she tell me that she despises the fact that you only choose to wear boxers to bed every night?"

"How would I know? That thing's got issues."

Quark shook his head. "Guys! Can we please argue about this later? That's beside the point! And so are the natives! There's something more important that I think you need to know!"

Clank tilted his head. "Perhaps we can all discuss this important matter after you ensure that the rescued natives are still in suitable condition, Captain Quark."

"Oh, um, right," Quark muttered. "But the thing is… I don't really know if they're… Well, I'm not entirely sure if they're-"

"I'll do it," Ratchet groaned and made his way toward the ship. He didn't want to talk about Aimer much longer anyway, much less to Clank in general. His stroll broke into a light jog towards the vessel, feeling the uncontrollable urge just to run as far as he can from the apartment, from this planet, this galaxy… Nonetheless, he skidded to a halt at the large crater and inspected it for a second or two, coughing as the smoke entered his lungs. Once he managed to wave his hand around and disperse most of the smoke, he saw that Quark had crashed it smack dab into the center of the landing pad. He sighed. This would take forever to repair, he thought as he returned his attention to the ship. The roof of the black ship had been completely torn off, but the two creatures (and the seats they sat in, thanks to the emergency seat force fields) still appeared to be awake and breathing. Well, one of them, at least.

"Lillian! Wake up! Lilian, please wake up! Please!" she repeated. Ratchet blinked. _These Natives speak English? Small universe…_

He couldn't quite see the two from behind the thick black smoke, so he carefully jumped over some of the rubble and got closer. "Hey, you two alright?" he asked politely as he neared them, hopping into the destroyed vessel beside them.

He expected the conscious one of the two to be frightened of him; After all, if they were natives to the uncharted planet, odds are they never saw a different species apart from their own. But the (clearly female) alien simply looked up at him pleadingly. This alien had long brown hair in a braid that was completely ragged by now, with a black headband that matched the rest of her bland attire. Her large brown eyes looked up into his anxiously. "Please help! She won't wake up! I-I don't know what's wrong with her!" her voice was shaking a little, her eyes beginning to tear up as she returned her attention to the girl she held. He looked down at the other alien that she held in her arms. She looked to be a little younger, fifteen at least. This one had a long nasty scar trailing down her pale, dirt-smudged face, all the down to her throat. It gave Ratchet chills. Unlike the other alien who had brownish hair, this one had both black and red hair, some parts of it caked with drying mud. Her small hands and her black strange clothing her covered with caked mud as well. The unconscious aliens' eyes were closed and her chest rose and fell at an unnaturally slow rate.

Concerned for the rescued passengers, Clank flew into the vessel using his Helipack with a worried look, Quark following close behind.

"So, uh, what are these things anyway?" Captain Quark asked the intelligent little robot as he watched Ratchet pull off one of his gloves and check the alien's pulse.

"My Bio-Scans say that they are called 'Homo Sapiens'; another common name for them is _humans._ There origins are unknown, and they only appear in Blargian children's stories, according to my database. It seems that they are very much real though."

Ratchet's speaking caught both Quark and Clank's attention. "The Warp Speed on the ship must have made her lightheaded and caused her to faint… but it normally doesn't have mass effects like this… did anything else happen?"

Clank walked next to his companion. "Ratchet, I suggest that we get her into the apartment as soon as possible and save the conversing and formalities for later. There I can run some diagnostics and Aimer can assist us with the readings."

Ratchet nodded. As much as he didn't want to have to get help from the AMR, this was necessary.

The human clenched the unconscious' one's hand so firmly that she was shaking . "Wait! Ca-can't we wake her up first?"

Clank looked up at the human with a questioning expression. "If I remember correctly, you were attempting to wake her up earlier. Did you succeed?"

"Well…" she looked down on the other human with tearful eyes. "N-no, but… I'd just feel better, she has…"

Clank placed his metal hand on her shoulder. "It will be all right, ma'am. Your companion will soon be recovered to full health."

"No, you-you don't understand! She…" she squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. "…Horrible nightmares… she has these horrible nightmares all the time, and she wakes up, just so…"

Clank glanced at Ratchet, and wasn't at all surprised to see that he returned the stare, both of them thinking the same thing. She vigorously shook her head.

"No-never mind, she'll be fine…she'll be just fine for a little while, a little while longer…"

She cleared her throat and quickly wiped her eyes, bending down to pick up her sister.

"Here, let me." Ratchet said, placing a hand on her shoulder in an act of reassurance. "Clearly, you've been through enough for one day. Clank, pal, can ya fill her in?"

Clank knew precisely what he meant by this. He nodded and took the human's hand as he led her out of the vessel, telling her of her location and who was who around her.

Ratchet carefully proceeded to lift the human up in his arms, and followed Clank and Quark into the apartment. The girls long snaking scar still sent goosebumps down his back.

* * *

_**Chapter Song: Bleed (I Must Be Dreaming) by Evanescence **__(I know that this song is mainly about witnessing murder but I couldn't find any other song that fit the whole blood/dreaming thing. :( some help on the chapter song would be really handy right about now )_

_**Foot Note: **_Well, I hope you liked it, cuz it may be the only one for a week or so… is dancing extremely difficult or am I just lazy? Or both? Never mind, thanks for reading this chapter (sorry if I got too intimate for you queasy people in the beginning, I went back and edited it thirty seven thousand times to keep it on the down low, ya know?) Till next time!

~KuraiTeiruzu696


	7. 5: Reoccuring Remnants

_**Head Note: **_As usual, I want to thank all of those who reviewed. I would also like to thank the viewers and tell them that even if you guys don't review, I still appreciate the fact that you took time out of your day to read this fan fiction. Thanks again!

In other news, I just beat the first Ratchet and Clank game, and finished up A Crack In Time too (I tend to play things in a series completely out of order). I beat Tools of Destruction a while back, and now am starting on Up Your Arsenal and Deadlocked. Therefore, if you do run into an error or two, blame my inability to keep things in order as well as my general blondeness and/or laziness. : /

Lastly, stay with me here guys, this is usually when my Winter Guard team is really focusing on our competitions (for those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about: Winterguard competes with other middle/high school winter guards using dance, rifle, sabre, flag, and then some). I'm going to be spending the majority of my time practicing my lazy butt off, so don't be surprised if the following chapter takes a little longer to post.

I'm also in the process of editing last chapter and the chapter before that (it's a never ending cycle, you see, as I learn more, I feel the unstoppable urge to change and correct even the littlest mistakes and enhance it in any way possible). Also note that in the chapter when Quark sets coordinates to go to Ratchet, I meant _Kerwan, _not _Veldin. _I had a brain fart there for a second… Do carry on, my amazing viewers! :)

* BLOOD AND LANGUAGE IN THIS CHAPTER

_**Disclaimer: ***_This Ratchet & Clank fan-fiction is exactly that: fanfiction. I don't own the Ratchet & Clank characters, game series, or anything related to them. They belong solely to Insomniac Games and this is purely a recreational piece of literature. *I own none of the songs used at the end of each chapter.

* * *

Anyone and everyone would tell you that the universe has a cruel sense of humor, and that there are two types of people who inhabit it. The first and foremost type of people take what the universe hands to them and goes along with it, and quite frankly, they learn how to "take a joke". They are the type of people that adapt quickly and accept the truth for what it is. They have many choices to choose from, including hate, love, anger, forgiveness… but they always seem to choose the one that best suits the situation. Yes, the universe most certainly does have a cruel sense of humor.

The second type of people, however, are not as lucky. They start out in the beginning with good fortune as well as everything that they could ever ask for. But for whatever reason, knowing this makes them thirsty for even more. They manipulate what they already have in high hopes of turning it into an endless supply of whatever they please, no matter the consequences, no matter the outcome in the end. Very few succeed. This is because the universe calls unto the first type of people to keep the second type from gaining too much power. It's almost like an unspoken balance, you see, that keeps the universe from collapsing into itself under one's rule. Some people think of it as Karma. Others simply think of it as fate.

Whatever you personally think it is, if you ask Junk and his other Blargian comrades what type of person that their boss might be, odds are that they'll tell you he's definitely the second type. People such as Junk's boss have the tendency to turn away from the universe for a prolonged period of time, further tainting themselves with selfishness and anger. They channel it through the unfolding of their morbid (albeit thoroughly thought out) plans, which almost always end up squandered by the first type of people no matter how well orchestrated they may seem.

Which was why the four of them stood there completely dumbstruck, staring at that one spot on the grass where the President just took off with Junks ship.

"So…" the clueless troop of the group, Dertclaude, began to speak to his handful of companions. "Do we head back to base now?"

A low and uneasy growling noise could be heard from the back of Junk's throat. "You moron!" he exclaimed loudly, his face distorted with anger and fear as he threw his gun down to the ground. The gun accidentally fired off somewhere into the woods, the gunshot echoing throughout the trees and scaring off the nearby birds.

"Don't you see!? We haven't completed the mission! You heard what the boss said! If we don't-"

"Well technically," Tartoes, interjected, pressing a button on his advanced armor and pulling up a holoscreen. "We have completed ¾ of said mission. Allow me to elaborate. Obtain N.I.M.R.A. Serum from Professor Whatshisface: check. Have N.I.M.R.A. shooters constructed and brought back to base: check. Successfully land on human-dwelled planet, and inject one human with the N.I.M.R.A. Serum: check. Return to base with human to confirm diagnostics and profiling… well…that's the only one we haven't completed, Junk."

"But that human is _everything_!" every one of the troops jumped as Junks voice boomed throughout the thick woods. Everything went deathly silent.

Junk sighed and shook his head weakly. "The boss said so himself. _'Remember Junk, all that matters is that one human. The difference between your crew's survival, my success, and your crew's demise, my failure, is placed upon that human's shoulders. The human is everything'._"

Just as he finished speaking, Tartoes's objective screen went black for a second, and a shadowed figure reappeared standing in front of what appeared to be a sort of Blargian military facility.

"B-b-boss…" Junk nervously stuttered as all of the troops gathered around the holovid.

"Hello, Junk." the voice spat in an irritated manner. "Might I ask why you are not responding to your communicator and I am being forced to use Tartoes's instead?"

The boss's voice was a low and slightly gravelly one. It was firm and direct, and was most of the time demanding. Thanks to the darkness that concealed his face and most of his business suit, you couldn't tell whether or not he was extremely angry or completely calm. That's what made communicating with him a tad bit scary. But one learned to get used to it; after all, no one really knew what the boss looked like except his closest associates.

"W-well, sir… it's, uh… on my ship." Junk barely managed to let out from between his quivering red lips.

This response didn't exactly seem to satisfy the silhouetted man on the other line. "And you couldn't retrieve it because…?" he questioned expectantly with a most perturbed, edgy tone.

Junk tried his hardest to keep from trembling, tensing and demanding control of his muscles without much success. "Because sir, my ship has been, uh…taken, by President Quark."

The Boss remained silent, which was never a good sign. He could be visibly seen tapping his chin and muttering to himself.

"This is nothing short of unacceptable, Junk. As for the objective, I trust that Tartoes will provide me with a more… tolerable situation report."

Junk looked down at his feet shamefully. It was over. He was screwed.

"Tartoes?"

"Ye-yes sir," Tartoes spoke back as strongly as he could muster, which in truth, wasn't that much different from Junk's anxious murmuring.

"The N.I.M.R.A. Serum has been obtained from the Professor, and-"

"Ahh, yes, Professor Lex of Lex Laboratories. In regards to him, as part of your team's new objective, you are to return to his space laboratory and…_ invite _him to our base. Be sure to remind him to bring anything that is necessary for the reproduction of the serum and whatever it will take to contain the subjects that have been injected. I must discuss these matters with him personally."

"Yes sir. Objective updated." Tartoes replied as he speedily tapped something on his armor.

"Alright then," the silhouette cleared his throat and straightened out his business suit, "What of the shooters that I asked for?"

"A fellow smuggler departing Ublik Passage managed to supply us with two dozen of the shooters basses off of the blueprints schematics, just like you asked for, sir. They have already been escorted by Vessel Gamma to the base. Though that smuggler did require a lot of persuading…"

The boss was visibly interested. "A smuggler, huh?" intrigued, he spoke more thoughts aloud to himself, and returned to the holovid. "Retrieve him as well as Professor Lex; if he has the connections to supply us, he's bound to be useful to us one way or another."

"Yes sir. Objective updated."

"Now, what about the subject? I trust it wasn't too much trouble."

"We have successfully injected a single female human with one of the N.I.M.R.A. serum capsules, just like you asked, sir."

The boss chuckled devilishly. "Excellent. And I take that you already have it neutralized. Might I see the serum's host?"

Tartoes went deathly pale, his red flesh gradually fading into a light red. "The… human was taken from us prior to being injected, sir. President Quark took it and another human stray that we assume is a relative to an unknown location."

"I see. How… unfortunate…" he growled angrily like Junk did not five minutes prior.

"We-we can use Junk's communicator and track where the ship landed; from there we can obtain the human and return to base."

"No need to track them down like dogs, Mr. Tartoes. I myself have some information about Captain Quark that might be useful."

"Yes sir?"

The boss waved his hand at the screen as if he were annoyed. "No, not for you. Regrettably, thanks to your _captain,_ your team will no longer be needed to retrieve the test subject. Is there any other information that we can use to find out the identity of this human before I send you off to complete your new objectives?"

Tartoes nimbly turned around and plucked the cigarette from the edge of the stream. "Well sir… she had this in her mouth before-"

"That will do just fine. Please keep it safe until you return to base, Captain Tartoes."

Tartoes looked up at his boss, eyes wide with surprise. "C-captain Tartoes, sir?"

The silhouette visibly nodded. "Yes, you heard me right. Junk is hereby being demoted. You, Mr. Claude, and Mr. Daymare will proceed with the following objectives: Retrieve Professor Lex and this smuggler, and return to base within the next two days… Junk will remain on this godforsaken planet for the rest of his pathetic life… Well, what are you waiting for? Hop to it!"

Tartoes flinched at the harshness in his voice. "Uh… ye-yes sir! Right away sir!"

He closed the holovid and he and his companions hopped into the remaining vessels. In seconds, the three were gone.

And Junk was left standing there in disbelief once more.

* * *

Do you remember when I told you that there were two people in the universe? Well, I lied. There are really three if you care to count the rebels, so named because they refuse to pick to be in either the first person or the second person. You could very well say that they are a little bit of both, and really don't care in the matter. In case you couldn't tell already, Zeke was one of these people. Type three. Stubborn as a mule and refused to believe anyone but herself, even when it was right in front of her.

The dream came to an end more abruptly than she had anticipated; the blood rain had only been pouring for about fifteen minutes until she felt a strange feeling in her arm that made her wake up. And as she felt it, the scary bloodied cat began to fade away with all the remnants of the others. It felt a lot like something sharp penetrating her skin…

Then she had remembered the strange aliens that had shot her with a dart, and her eyes burst open faster than she thought possible. And the first thing that escaped her lips was a scream.

"AAAAH! No! Get away from me!" she hollered at the top of her lungs, sitting up fast and knocking something small and boxed shape off of her. She immediately looked at what had been done to her arm to find that it was a thin needle eerily similar to the ones you would find at a hospital. Without any signs of hesitation she plucked it from her arm and inspected it anxiously, ignoring the small drop of blood beginning to form on the area where her skin was pricked.

"Miss Zeke, please remain calm and refrain from panicking. There is nothing to fear, for you are safe now."

When Zeke heard the voice, she looked around to find it's origin. As she did, she saw that she was in what looked like a living room. She was lying on a long sofa beside a table that was cluttered with bottles and strange computer screens. There was a bright light above her, and everything else seemed…well, normal. Maybe all of that crazy stuff was just a dream?

"How are you feeling?" a strange robotic voice asked her. She was confused for a second before she realized that the voice was addressing her from beside her, and she turned to see a small box-shape robot picking itself up from the carpeted ground and climbing back up onto the couch beside her. It was the same robot from her dream. He was all gray with a small red blinking antenna protruding from his small head, and on his chest was a small funny looking trapezoid that reminded her of a heater vent. Yes, he was the same one from her dream.

Therefore, not knowing where she was or who he was, she remained silent as she inspected him curiously. He had bright green eyes that were fixated on her forehead expectantly.

"Do I make you feel uncomfortable, Miss Zeke?" She then realized that he was directly beside her on the couch, propped up against her in a most awkward manner. She quickly shook her head.

"Wha-? No! No, it's just that…"

The robot tilted his head. "I am merely concluding as to whether or not you suffer from a concussion. You seemed to have hit your head onto the emergency seat force field when Captain Quark crashed into the apartment's roof." he continued to examine her head before seeing that she was staring at him with wide eyes.

"You appear startled, Miss Zeke. There are not many robotic life forms on your planet, I take it?"

"Well, no, but… I-I saw you. I-in the dream I just had. You were floating around in space."

Clank was surprised for a second and then tapped his metal chin with his large, three-fingered hand. "Hmm… interesting. Usually, most carbon based life forms do not remember the people or events taking place in a precognitive dream. Do you remember everything that happened?"

Zeke chuckled. "Um, my dreams can sometimes be pretty unrealistic, but, uh ...Yeah, well mine, they're, uh… pretty hard to forget." There was a brief moment of unbearable awkward silence. The robot tilted his head. "How so?"

"Hey pal, what's going on in here? Is she awake?" a young male voice came from the door in the corner of the room. Zeke's head turned and she nearly screamed again. There, standing in the doorway, was the same orange cat creature from her dream minutes ago. And Alicia was with him.

"Alicia!?" Zeke exclaimed with joy and relief written all over her face. She wasn't crazy, or still dreaming... and if she was it was pretty convincing.

"Zeke!" Without waiting for the cat creature to open the door all the way, Alicia burst through and knelt next to the couch to hug her sister. They did, and Alicia's voice cracked like it was close to crying.

Alicia remained kneeling next to the sofa, but she retracted from their hug and pushed a stray chunk of hair that went into her eyes. "You scared me, you!" she said with a slight nervous chuckle.

The rebellious girl put on a quirky grin. "And you know that I do it on purpose."

They hugged once more, this time out of relief than out of giddy, before Alicia smiled and stood up.

"Zeke, there's some people I want you to meet."

She gestured to the orange cat thing that stood beside her, a tad bit shorter than she was. He was covered head to toe in orange fur. He had excessively long, strange shaped ears that each had three brown stripes, and right now they were perked up in an odd manner. He had a small, catlike brown nose and two vivid green eyes that looked down on her worriedly. Wearing a plain shirt and baggy pants, he looked fairly normal as well. Actually, had she not seen him completely drenched in blood in her dream and lifelessly floating around in space, she would have thought that he seemed pretty cute.

But she did see him, and when she saw him, he was dead.

"This is Ratchet," Alicia said with that soft voice of hers. "He's a Lombax. He's the one that that big green alien took us to."

The _Lombax _known as Ratchet waved one of his gloved hands in the air. "Hey," he spoke with a young voice, and Zeke wondered to herself if he could've been the same age as Alicia, maybe even just a bit older than her. "You, uh, you were out cold when the ship crashed, so I just thought it would be best if you just lied down for a little bit…"

She remained silent and stared at him, completely awestruck. This, of course, made him feel quite uncomfortable.

Then Zeke remembered the ship's crash and the aliens, and she turned away and gasped, deep in her own thoughts.

"Ratchet, this is my sister Zeke." Alicia gestured to the young girl on the couch. "She's very, uh… what's the word I'm looking for? She's interesting, she's-"

"Alright, I laid down for a little bit, I'm fine!" Zeke stood up and straightened out her black shirt that was two sizes too big for her, Clank falling off of the side of the couch once more. Her voice was strong and hoarse, and she looked about her with fiery bluegreen eyes. "Now tell me, just where the fuck is that red thing that shot me!? Imma stick my foot so far up his ass he won't feel it until it comes out his nose!"

Alicia and Ratchet stood and watched her awkwardly as she continued to spew every foul word under the sun. Clank brushed himself off and joined them. "Perhaps the word you were looking for is juvenile?" he asked.

Alicia shrugged and nodded vigorously. "Yeah. Yeah, that's the word."

* * *

_**Chapter Song: Cure for the Itch, by Linkin Park **__(again, some songs would come in handy :) )_

_**Foot Note: **_Wow. I'm really, _really_ tired. So, I'll go and edit the chapter to the ending's later I guess. That is if Slendy doesn't get to me first. :-P Gnite! **EDIT: **Yeah, I don't think Imma fix that little dyslexic error, just because when I read it it seemed to back up the fact that I was falling asleep whilst typing this the other night. XD

~KuraiTeiruzu696

TENSHI


	8. Of Daydreaming and Darts

_**Head Note: **_Thank you to those who reviewed and/or those who thought about reviewing but in the end decided to send me a mental hug. : ) Thank you telepathic readers. I would now like to present the sixth chapter of What's Inside, probably the longest chapter since I've decided to strengthen the character's relationships before some action came in so that we'd all be happy here. And because I'm in a really… write-y mood : | … Never mind. But before we carry on, I would like to clarify three things.

The first thing has to do with the process of this story (sounds boring, I know, but it will clarify a number of things should you return to find the story completely changed). When the story is at the halfway mark, which shouldn't be for a while, I will begin to comb through the story chapter by chapter and cleaning it. On some chapters I'll be making minor changes and edits, and on others I could be rewriting the entire chapter with the same principles/ideas, but from scratch. You catching my drift here? So if you want me to keep something the same (say, a certain line or an action, or the way something is written) just let me know and I'll see what I can do. :D

Reguarding my Guard team (heh, very punny), I'm not gonna beat around the bush here, I got kicked off because I'm failing two of my classes and all the others are D's or C's. So yeah. :/ All of them went down from straight A's because lately I've been in a really bad rut of depression and utter hopelessness that makes me want to crawl inside a hole and never come out unless Jack Frost shows up to take me away to a magical place called the North Pole and tells me I'm a guardian so that I won't have to show up to school anymore unless it's to fight Pitch (hey, I know it's a kids movie, but _come on_! An Australian six foot tall bunny ~ or kangaroo, XD ~ that throws boomerangs and egg bombs, and a Russian Santa Clause with swords! And Jack's freaking hawt! Can't get better than that!)

And finally, for those of you who want to, I do want to let you know not to be shy when you want to suggest a chapter song. Quite frankly, the chapter songs revolve around the main mood and/or idea of the chapter. And if I can't think of anything, I just put down a cool instrumental song I know that matches any chapter. Personally, I wanna be able to put Jai Ho in one of the chapters pretty soon, I can't get enough of that song. XD

Alright, I think I've sufficiently bored or annoyed you enough. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

~RNC~

"They told me everything," Alicia simply stated to her younger sister as the small group gathered in the living room. Alicia had decided to sit right next to her on the couch, and unfortunately for Zeke, this was only to better reinsert the needle into her arm and ensure that it stayed put this time.

"We're on Kerwan," she spoke with a voice that was full of enthusiasm, "a planet in another galaxy, far from the Milky Way. And you remember that green alien that rescued us? His name's Captain Copernicus Quark. He's an intergalactic superhero, and then some, as I've been told by Ratchet. And Ratchet is the only known Lombax in the universe, he says he'll tell us how that happened later. He's a mechanic _and_ a superhero. He and his best friend, that small robot named Clank, have been through so much in the past few years, this whole crazy intergalactic screw up is easy cheesy compared to what could've happened to them."

Zeke was trying her hardest to follow what her older sister was saying, but she couldn't help herself from raising her index finger and pressing it against Alicia's lips. Alicia shot her an annoyed, puzzled look.

"I think I'll catch on a bit quicker if you just let it come to me on my own," she said before poking her sister's rosy, angelic cheek and smirking oddly. "Oh, whatever," Alicia mumbled just as the aliens entered the room; the _aliens, _of course, being the Lombax, the robot, and the superhero.

"I believe that we will better understand this situation if each of you three describe, in your own words, what happened up to this point, so that we may put them together and come to a conclusion." Clank spoke intelligently as he joined Ratchet on the couch opposite from the one the tacky trio were sitting on. Zeke took this time to secretly remove the needle and thrust it down the side of the couch. Quark was sitting on the left side of the couch fiddling with the antenna on his head. Zeke gathered right away that he was a dysfunctional - more like overzealous - character that didn't necessarily understand the importance of a situation unless it conflicted with his safety or reputation. It was quite apparent that he considered this a petty squabble that could've been avoided had he been rescued. Alicia sat upright in the middle of the couch, staring attentively and waiting for what would happen next. Zeke noticed that her sister was this: confident, calm, and always forming a plan B in the back of her mind just in case something didn't follow through as expected. And last but not least (well, in _her _mind, anyway) Zeke was sprawled out on the far right corner in a careless fashion, her legs dangling over the armrest and her small hands desperately trying to pry the dried mud out of her hair.

The cat creature known as Ratchet sat across from the trio and pushed a small, green button on the wall beside him. A slate gray table protruded from the wall, and a single bulb of light dropped down from the ceiling over them. _Some sort of interrogation thing, I suppose, _Zeke thought to herself smugly as she flung her feet over the edge of the table and crossed her arms. Alicia immediately thumped her sister with a raspy aggressive whisper. "Get those dirty shoes off of the table!"

"Ow! Hey, it's not hurtin' anybody!" Zeke retorted sternly, but obeyed anyway.

Clank pulled out the AMR bot from his trapezoid-shaped chest and placed it on the table. "Let us begin with-" Clank began, before Captain Quark took it upon himself to begin his epic.

"Why, thank you Clank for that marvelous introduction!" he stood up and bellowed boisterously. Zeke flinched, startled at the loudness of his voice, and a snarl formed deep in the back of her throat. "The epic, unbelievably _awesome _story of how I rescued these two helpless creatures goes a little something like this,"

"Helpless!?" Zeke scoffed with a hoarse voice, earning another thump on the temple from Alicia.

"Oh, here we go," Ratchet commented at Quark's words and face palmed.

"There I was!" Quark spoke excitedly, "Flying through the endless, mysterious land of space with only my confidential presidential matters on mind, when my ship began to malfunction."

"Where you called me at 4 in the morning to come and get you," Ratchet stately plainly, looking up at him expectantly.

Zeke chuckled and looked up at the green superhero. "Dude, you _fail!_" she laughed. Alicia wrapped her arm around Zeke's neck and playfully began to give her a noogie. "You know what? You should just stop talking, like right now!" she smirked as Zeke struggled to escape her sister's horrific noogie wrath. "Okay, okay okay okay! You win this time," Zeke giggled, prying free from her sister and returning her attention to Quarks' storytelling, as did Alicia.

"Well, Ratchet, before I was forced to send out a minor distress call, I was unexpectedly thrown off course by a cause yet to be determined, and spiraled into the atmosphere of the uncharted planet…"

Zeke was staring at the ceiling out of boredom when he abruptly stopped talking. She looked at him quizzically, only to see that his mouth was moving, and he was gesticulating like crazy. And his voice wasn't completely gone, it was… faded, like what he was saying immediately blurred into the background once it escaped his lips. Like in a dream. Like in her dreams.

Zeke struggled to keep calm; this has happened before. There were quite a few times when she'd _accidentally misplaced _her medication, and the aftereffects weren't pretty. First, everything began to run together, all of her senses were distorted and hazy. Everyone's voices were hard to make out for a moment or two; she wondered when she would begin seeing…

And then she could barely make them out. They were small, alien like creatures that carelessly floated about in the air. Her eyes were glued on them as they gracefully danced, their movements swift and slow like a river. None of their features could be made out, because in reality, they were like clouds. Black storm clouds that were plucked out of the sky and danced before her, making shapes and playing beautiful music. Everything around her became dulled, and she focused solely on the creatures. They were the friendliest of her hallucinations, probably the only friendly hallucination. The others were more violent, scary, and vivid. They continued to float around Quark and back up to the ceiling, weaving extravagant designs and patterns upon it with their arms. It was breathtaking…

A hand grabbed her shoulder and caused her to jump, letting out a small squeak of surprise. "Wha-! Oh." She turned to see it was only her sister who had startled her out of her trance. She then noticed that all of them were staring at her as if she grew another head. "Um… that's not creepy." She stated.

Clank thrust a metal finger up in the air. "We attempted to redirect your attention from the ceiling to the situation at hand through means of verbal motivation, yet you remained unaware of our presence in the midst of your trance."

"Okay, well I'm listening now, so what?" She shrugged carelessly. "What is it?"

"Unfortunately, I am unable to find it in my database, but I am quite certain that it is an uncommon psychological disorder that causes you to have vivid hallucinations and predict whom you will meet in the future; possibly caused by either the serum injected into you or a traumatic event which stressed your brain excessively enough for it to induce a fear like response and-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait, what-what exactly does this have to do with the _situation at hand _you were talking about?" Zeke spat defensively.

Clank's green eyes remained focused on her. "I was merely inquiring about… oh, never mind. You are quite right; we must remain on task." Clank finished and glanced up to his friend. Ratchet nodded resumed where they left off…wherever that was. "So that's that; Drek's definitely out of the picture. But who else would be leading the Blargs?"

Quark sat down and shrugged. "I don't know, someone who has a way with words and advanced shooting technology. And science, they were definitely set on this whole mole killer infestation thingy."

Ratchet shook his head slowly, his ears slightly drooped. "Quark, it's _molecular transfiguration. _Besides, just because they're using dart guns doesn't make them advanced. Do you know how many natives back on Pokitaru shot me with those things? I was seeing polka dots for a week!"

"DARTS! AWW, FUCK YEAH!" Zeke shouted at the top of her lungs, standing up and throwing her hands in the air excitedly. Everyone around her jumped and Alicia exclaimed in surprise. "Ah! Jesus, Zeke! What the hell was that for!?"

"I have it! The dart that one ugly ass red dude shot me with!" Zeke thrust her hand into her pocket and felt around for it. Her grin dropped. "Oh, horse shit." she groaned in disbelief. Alicia snickered. "Maybe you should've checked your pockets _before _cussing at the world, Zeke."

"Pshh, whatever," she replied sullenly. That dart could've been the ticket to finding her shooter. Her day was ruined.

Clank stood up. "Perhaps it fell out of your pocket while you were still on the ship. Would you like to go and search for it among the wreckage?"

Well, her day wasn't ruined just yet. "Sure, okay." Zeke stood up and followed him to the door. Clank glanced at Ratchet. "Should someone request to land or comes in close enough proximity of the landing pad, AMR's sensors will redirect the ship's projection onto her screen. Seeing that our landing pad is no longer in any condition to host any more ships, simply press _deny _and input the password."

"Sure thing, pal." Ratchet nodded, and as the duo exited the room, he turned back to Alicia. "Okay Alicia, I honestly think it'd be best if you told your side of the story. Just so we can, uh…" he glanced at Quark uneasily, who was making seductive faces at himself in the reflection of the table longingly. "Clarify some of the _glorified aspects_ of the situation…"

"Sure," she responded enthusiastically and straightened up confidently. "Well, Zeke and I were taking a shortcut through the woods, and she noticed smoke rising up from somewhere a little ways off the path, the smoke from Captain Quark's crashed ship. There were these aliens there…"

INSERT LINE HERE PLEASE AND THANK YOU (um. nope.) ._.

"I'm so pleased that you could attend our little _meeting _with such short notice," the silhouetted figure said from his chair on the opposite side of the table. The meeting room was empty aside from these two aliens. The smuggler's hat was tipped down so that his eyes were blocked, his arms crossed impatiently and protruding from his lips a long strand of what appeared to be wheat. He was sitting across from the shaded, suited alien.

"Much obliged…" the blue criminal responded with a slight accent in his smooth voice.

"I just wanted to thank you again for producing my squad's technology. Clearly, you have easy access to the newest equipment not yet open to the universe,"

"Don't forget illegally modified." the smuggler stated matter-of-factly. "Some of my, uh… employers, hire me to acquire certain equipment modules and to _enhance _them to the best of my ability… for a price, though."

"Yes, I'm told that you are especially skilled at recovering heavily guarded items,"

The blue skinned alien chuckled. "Where I'm from, that's called stealing. Yeah, I'm a pretty darn good thief."

"Well, sir, where _I'm _from, that's called _expertise_ in the field of survival. A necessity that most of my workers lack."

"With all due respect, sir, my thieving days are over. One too many clients putting up too high the stakes and taking off without grantin me a reward."

"Heh, I quite understand what you mean. But as you already know, I am a man of business. A no-games, straight-to-the-point sort of man, and am willing to pay you quite a fetching sum for you to run a little errand for me."

The smuggler hummed, deep in thought, his hat still obscuring his eyes. "What exactly are you gettin at?"

In the shadows, the alien smirked. "You might have noticed that there's a growing problem plaguing our populations lives in this wonderful plain of existence: the dwindling of certain, intelligent alien species. A total of 352 psychologically and intellectually advanced species are now forever lost, because they dispersed through unknown regions of the universe and died off in the hands of sickness, starvation, neglect, and of course, the failure to reproduce."

"What's this have to do with anything?"

"As we speak, one of my companions, Dr. Lex, is constructing a compound in my space station specifically used for alien research. Of course, out of the hundreds of extinct alien life forms, there's only a handful that could be beneficial to our lovely universe. Two dozen prime species, at the very least, that can change the course of everybody's lives forever."

"You're losin' me, doc."

"Listen, listen. After many theories as to how we can rekindle these alien's back into the population, ranging from nano-bacterial fission to other outlandish experiments of the like, Dr. Lex had come up with two methods. The first being, to be plain, revival. He'd acquired some of these species fresh corpses and successfully revived them using a special nanotech concoction. But most of the corpses are in no condition to be revived, therefore we were left with one other option: molecular reconfiguration. The taking of one useless, malleable species and turning it into something more. This is where you come in."

"About time,"

"One of my squads were sent to a planet a few lightyears away from the Solana Galaxy, the only one that contained… well, I wouldn't necessarily say _intelligent _beings, but ones that are at most, civilized and rudimentarily educated. This species of alien knows only how to pollute and discriminate, quite a useless bunch of barbaric creatures, that come by the billions. _Humans. _The only upside to their existence is that their structure, their DNA, is malleable. The scientist hypothesizes that by injecting them with the serum, in a matter of days they would change into the creature whose extracted alien DNA was added to the serum prior."

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on. You say that these things come by the billions? Won't it take a long time to individually shoot each and every one of them?"

"We looked into this dilemma, and unfortunately, if we were to make the serum into a gas, it becomes noxious, deadly. That being said, we would have to select a few hundred thousand to confine to our headquarters and rid of the rest, to avoid any unnecessary interference. As I was saying, my squad tested this theory by going to the planet and successfully injecting the serum into one of the creatures, but someone took her and fled before we could retrieve her and confirm the results."

"So, what you're saying is…"

"Yes. But you mustn't fret; she's but a tiny helpless child. We need her back at the base to confirm whether or not the molecular reconfiguration will be successful. And I already have coordinates to the planet in which she was taken," the figure pushed forward an open file, containing pictures of a stubborn-looking, apricot colored female alien with multicolored hair. "My squad managed to obtain her file from the planet using her DNA. All the information is within, as well as who you might be up against. You will be paid handsomely. Do you accept?"

The smuggler remained silent, scanning over the pictures and the neatly typed documents suspiciously. After what seemed like forever, the smuggler closed the folder. He tipped his hat up and looked his new customer in the eye.

"How much we talkin?"

_**Chapter Song: Session, by Linkin Park **__(again, some songs would come in handy :) )_

_**Foot Note: DERP.**_

TENSHI


End file.
